"BACK" to action
PROGRAMMING NOTE: Join us for Purple, Gold, and Blue today at 11 am, when our guests will be Bethlehem Shoals of Free Darko, and Ken Levine, host of Dodger Talk on 790 AM. Click the show widget on the side of the page, or go straight to our show at NowLive.com by clicking here.
Took a team of writers to come up with that gem, folks.
But all terrible puns aside, tonight does indeed mark commencement of a pivotal game 5 between the Jazz and the Lakers (7:30 pm PST, TNT). One that will feature Kobe Bryant playing through the mother of all back pain, an injury sustained early into Sunday's loss in Utah. Kobe hasn't practiced since touching down in L.A., but as everyone would fully expect, there ain't even a snowball's chance in hell that he'll sit out this contest. Thankfully, The Mamba is reporting a positive change in his condition and remains hopeful he'll grow even more pain-free come the tipoff. His effectiveness on the court, however, remains unknown for now, as well as his approach while on it. Game 4's loss saw Kobe in heavy facilitator mode during the fourth, followed by a heavy shooting performance in OT, followed by Phil Jackson's comments that the supporting cast let down their star. Some felt the finale was Kobe attempting too much while others felt that notion was ridiculous on any level. For what it's worth, Kenny Smith of Yahoo! and TNT, PJ's thoughts were actually directed at both parties in question. Whatever the case may be, the development has people wondering the style and effectiveness Kobe will be armed with this evening.
At long last, Trevor Ariza was cleared to practice without any limitations. His potential PT is a tricky matter, since rust is obviously a factor. But given how poorly Vlad Radmanovic has played during the series, the notion of an additional option can't help but intrigue PJ.
If somebody's gonna break one of Cap's records, it might as well be another Laker icon.
My mama can beat up your mama.
frank1rizzo,
Do some screaming for me, pal.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 14, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Sean714
Your questions about Newble are excellent. It makes absolutely no sense that Newble hasn't played up to this point.
However, when you factor into the equation that at all times Luke Walton for whatever reason has to be protected........then it makes perfect sense.........bear with me while I present my argument.
If a player hasn't played in 4 months how would you reintergrate that player back in your rotation? Would you start that person immediately? Or would you gradually bring that person in off the bench?
Conventional wisdom would suggest you slowly bring that person back to the fold by bringing them off the bench.......even if that person was a superstar........correct?
That being true.........that returning player would now compete with the first players currently coming off the bench........that would be the sensible thing to do.
However, when Phil spoke of Ariza coming back he instantly created the competition between Ariza and Radmanovich...............and nobody questioned it. Which indeed was his motive.
Why not Ariza and Walton since Radmanovich has been a starter and not a player coming off the bench?
It would make more sense if Ariza was brought back slowly off the bench which would put him in at least initially direct competition with Walton for those minutes.
Phil said he likes the role Walton plays coming off the bench and finishing games. I wonder is that why Walton sat the end of the 4th quarter and all of overtime in the last game?
The obvious question that Phil hopes to avoid is would Ariza bring more energy off the bench and would he be better defensively to close games than Walton?
"He who gives you the diameter of your thinking controls the circumference of your activity"
Phils placing Ariza in direct competition against Radmanovich and not Walton is done purposely to avoid closer observation of Luke for the rest of this series and as the competition becomes more competetive the rest of the playoffs and it also avoids the question of whether Luke should even be brought back next year.
Judging by the Bloggers and the questions posed to Phil by the media............it's working!
Posted by: pfunk36 | May 14, 2008 at 11:51 AM
JON K. Thank you so much sir!
*__________________________*
Vlad I believe in you Bandwagon
*__________________________*
(01) Mamba24 - Driver
(02) Kobesbad - Owner
(03) MagicMan - Riding ShotGun
(04) The OutLaw - Vlads Shooting coach
(05) Jon K. - Vlad's Personal Bio-Chrono Advisor
(06) Edwin Gueco - Will Hypnotize Vlad before the Game.
Posted by: Mamba24 | May 14, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Marky,
I guess I'm a bit of a sadist because I do love torturing others with puns.
That said, I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead....
Go Lakers!
Posted by: Jesterguru | May 14, 2008 at 12:02 PM
DisgruntledFrustratedlakerFan"EVERYONE IS TALKING AS IF WE ARE GONNA WIN
THE NEXT TWO GAMES. I FEEL WE ARE IN DEEP SH*T""
Then use that sh*t as fertilizer and watch Vlad and Farmar bloom. huh?
Posted by: Mamba24 | May 14, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Mamba, please add me to Vlad I believe and Resistance is Futile bandwagons (and all bandwagons of a positive nature).
I will make sure all snowboards are hidden from Vlad.
Posted by: Jesterguru | May 14, 2008 at 12:04 PM
I think Luke is going to have an excellent passing game tonight. I feel like Kobe is going to be a little more passive tonight because of his back so the Lakers will get in the mood where they pass the ball around 30 times before someone finally shoots. I see a lot of Kobe passing to Luke then Luke doing a no look or a quick pass to Lamar or Pau for the slam. I think some of the best plays this year are when Kobe either passes to Lamar or Gasol and then they find each other. Whatever we do, we can't do what we did in OT on Sun. WE MUST PASS, and LUKE is KEY.
GO LAKERS
Posted by: mrbarneydangles | May 14, 2008 at 12:04 PM
Pfunk-
Luke is playing way better than Rad...Phil is simply trying to light a fire under Radman again. Ariza can come in and guard the 1-3 positions, so there is plenty of room for his integration. As to whether or not he comes back next yr,...do you remember that little thing called a contract we signed with him last summer. Not a lot of wiggle room.
Kobesbad
Posted by: Kobesbad | May 14, 2008 at 12:05 PM
Kobe is the cancer of this team
Kobe is the cancer of this team
Kobe is the cancer of this team
Posted by: Jack Nickolson | May 14, 2008 at 12:07 PM
where's Laker Tom?
Pfunk: interesting but I also think PJ is using the media attention in general to mess with all our heads. He doesn't want Jazz to put any time into reviewing Ariza tapes - so we have an element of surprise if and when he does get to paly. And not that tapes would be of use since its been months and he didn't have that much PT with Pau but its all part of the zen scheme.
PJ's good - we all agree on that much.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | May 14, 2008 at 12:07 PM
Pfunk-
In regards to the little contract thing...I was referring to that offseason signing of Luke
Kobesbad
Posted by: Kobesbad | May 14, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Although Kobe may need to work on his in-game adjustments, I have never been let down by his adjustments BETWEEN games.
So I'm not sure why everyone is suddenly worrying about "Kobe's mindset".
Isn't that what people thought after he had a bad shooting night against Denver?
The guy seems to be made of rubber, looking at the number of times he has bounced back from bad outings.
Go get Game 5, Lakers! It's yours for the taking!
16...15...14...13...12...11...
Posted by: Amazing_Happens | May 14, 2008 at 12:08 PM
Trade him now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trade him now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Trade him
Posted by: Jack Nickolson | May 14, 2008 at 12:10 PM
*__________________________*
Vlad I believe in you Bandwagon
*__________________________*
(01) Mamba24 - Driver
(02) Kobesbad - Owner
(03) MagicMan - Riding ShotGun
(04) The OutLaw - Vlads Shooting coach
(05) Jon K. - Vlad's Personal Bio-Chrono Advisor
(06) Edwin Gueco - Will Hypnotize Vlad before the Game.
(07) JesterGuru - Will hide all snowboards from Vlad.
*___________________________*
NBA Resistance is FUTILE
against the Lakers BANDWAGON
*___________________________*
(01) BK - Driver
(02) AK - Owner
(03) LAKERTOM – Turned the Borg into Laker Fans
(04) MAMBA24 – Not completely assimilated
(05) KOBESBAD – Turned the Borg Bad
(06) , JoninJAPAN(INCANADA) – Made Lebron vote Kobe MVP
(07) Jamie Sweet – Made David Stern Cry Uncle
(08) Edwin Gueco – Character of Picard based upon him
(09) Janaya – Beat Worf in arm wrestling.
(10) Pig Miller – Turned the Borg into trolls
(11) Fearless – Even the Borg fear him
(12) Nemaia Faletogo – Real Inventor of the Warp drive
(13) Milo Rambaldi – Team Prophet and starship captain
(14) TWoody – Defeated Borg in Hand-to-Hand combat
(15) JustAnotherMambaFan – Gave Worf a home with the Mamba family
(16) Jon K. -- In Charge of the Tractor Beam
(17) MagicMan – that is what Dr. Crusher calls him.
(18) Htj - Created the Warp Drive
(19) JesterGuru - He is the Borq Queens hero.
Posted by: Mamba24 | May 14, 2008 at 12:11 PM
420?
Are you there. We could use an herbal remedy for what has ailed us......
Kobesbad
Posted by: Kobesbad | May 14, 2008 at 12:11 PM
shut up, jack.
i'm excited to see kobe take a more cerebral role in tonight's game. He's a b-ball genius and with lamar and pau as his arms, he will be the head of a very powerful laker voltron.
Posted by: eddie brock | May 14, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Mamba24,
Hypnotism will not work, it will just bounce back because he is cross-eyed. I think Vlad will show up today, why? it's a cloudy day among fans, rains of casualties in our midst, therefore we need his rainbow shots to save the day.
PS. On the other hand, I'd like to apply hypnosis on some bloggers here who are trading players while they're still in the playoffs. Watch the pendulum as it swings from left to right..right to left..left to right....please don't trade players now, we'll run out of players, do it in July! Enjoy the Spring, it playoffs' time.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | May 14, 2008 at 12:18 PM
Xodus,
"I was wondering why Newble didn't make the All-NBA team. I just assumed that he got screwed by the voters."
Newble's presence on the Cavs and the Lakers is an obvious attempt by him to steal the limelight from LeBron and Kobe. No way the league will allow that. What would it say about the NBA's "star system" if Newble got into the rotation, and won the title for the Lakers? It's pretty obvious that Stern has put out the word to not give him any playing time.
Posted by: exhelodrvr | May 14, 2008 at 12:21 PM
Face it Jesterguru, you can't quit while you're ahead or else you'll fall behind.
Mark
Posted by: MarkytheArky | May 14, 2008 at 12:23 PM
What does everyone think of this starting lineup?
C Pau
PF LO
SF Kobe
SG Sasha
PG Fish
I like it, just because Sasha has had a hot hand as of late and his confidence is reaching new heights. I wish Vlad could stay in it because of his deadly touch but he seems to be out of it. At least if we could start one half this way and see what happens.
-bozz-
Posted by: bozz | May 14, 2008 at 12:23 PM
Say Jack... if Kobe is cancer, sign me up.
PS You spelled your name incorrectly. You obviously DONT KNOW JACK
Mark
Posted by: MarkytheArky | May 14, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Mamba24, I'd rather go down a disappointed optimist than a cynical realist: Please put me on the "Vlad I believe in you" bandwagon.
Also, if there is room in the "resistance is futile bandwagon" I'd like a space there too. It is a good slogan as we work towards our second three-peat.
My prayers go out to Ariza, the Lakers, and all the trolls out there who need an quick exorcism so they can say,
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: JohnnyP | May 14, 2008 at 12:29 PM
It's game day...
finally!
Let's do this.
In the words of the immortal Mike T, MAKE THEM OBEY!
Posted by: Benjamin | May 14, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Simply starve the troll
Posted by: toad | May 14, 2008 at 12:29 PM
I would also like a ticket to the Resistance is Futile bandwagon.
Thanks mamba24. We missed you!
Posted by: Benjamin | May 14, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Who forgot the Troll B Gone?!?!?!?
GGGGGRRRHHHHH
See you bucketheads in the morning after we win... Oh wait, my bad. The MO of a troll is to disappear back into
the hills after the Lakers prove the haters and dirty rotten debaters wrong (yet again).
Posted by: magicman | May 14, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Mamba 24, when we say that we believe in Vlad, what are we saying? That he exists? That the Lakers need him to play well in order to win? That his expensive contract is not a waste of money? What is it?
Mark
Posted by: MarkytheArky | May 14, 2008 at 12:32 PM
Pfunk36,
Uhh...placing Ariza in direct competition with Rad has everything to do with the fact that Vlad, along with Farmar have been the worst players on the team.
And there's no reason to believe that Ariza won't be brought along slowly. Ariza has only been cleared to practice, not play. And Phil was planning on bringing Bynum back slowly off the bench. Why wouldn't be do the same with Ariza, who was only beginning to find his role in the Lakers' system?
Posted by: Xodus | May 14, 2008 at 12:32 PM
Kobesbad
My argument is not whether Luke is playing better than Radmanovich..........that is pretty obvious........Luke is playing better......right now!
However, I think that you will agree with me that the 3 position needs to be more athletic especially on the defensive end. This will become more glaring as the stakes increase and the competition becomes more athletic as the rounds increase.
If we are to become a championship team......defense will be paramount to our success this season and on to a potential dynasty for the next 5 years.
I think Phil creates with his statements the prism through which we look that sometimes tends to eliminate from consideration the packaging and trading of Walton for a better team down the road.
Ira Newble was brought in supposedly to address our athletic needs on defense...............He can't get in the game.......Why?
When Ariza returns we will have two players (Ariza and Newble) that can help us against long athletic players on the defensive end.
Somebody has to go..............I think Walton and/or Radmanovich are excellent trade bait to improve the roster........because neither are getting any younger and/or quicker.
Posted by: pfunk36 | May 14, 2008 at 12:36 PM
AMEN! to Utzworld's prayer.
I really think the Lakers will come out with a purpose tonight and, as I stated
in the LiveNow chat, I predict a blowout. I think the offense will run efficiently,
that we will get the majority of the calls, and that tonight it will be the Jazz who
will be in foul trouble early. I just don't think their brand of rough/dirty basketball
is going to prevail in this series, esp. not with the Lakers having homecourt
advantage.
One other thing, I'm kinda glad this series is going 6-7 games. I think this will
better prepare this team going deeper into the playoffs, whether it be this year
or, God forbid, next year.
See you all tonight! 6 down, 10 to go!
Posted by: Bzar | May 14, 2008 at 12:37 PM
If Kobe is a cancer, then the Jazz are the surrounding tissue. They are going to be destroyed.
Posted by: frank1rizzo | May 14, 2008 at 12:37 PM
*__________________________*
Vlad I believe in you Bandwagon
*__________________________*
(01) Mamba24 - Driver
(02) Kobesbad - Owner
(03) MagicMan - Riding ShotGun
(04) The OutLaw - Vlads Shooting coach
(05) Jon K. - Vlad's Personal Bio-Chrono Advisor
(06) Edwin Gueco - Will Hypnotize Vlad before the Game.
(07) JesterGuru - Will hide all snowboards from Vlad.
(08) JohnnyP - Convinced Vlad the Basket is a snowboard
*___________________________*
NBA Resistance is FUTILE
against the Lakers BANDWAGON
*___________________________*
(01) BK - Driver
(02) AK - Owner
(03) LAKERTOM – Turned the Borg into Laker Fans
(04) MAMBA24 – Not completely assimilated
(05) KOBESBAD – Turned the Borg Bad
(06) , JoninJAPAN(INCANADA) – Made Lebron vote Kobe MVP
(07) Jamie Sweet – Made David Stern Cry Uncle
(08) Edwin Gueco – Character of Picard based upon him
(09) Janaya – Beat Worf in arm wrestling.
(10) Pig Miller – Turned the Borg into trolls
(11) Fearless – Even the Borg fear him
(12) Nemaia Faletogo – Real Inventor of the Warp drive
(13) Milo Rambaldi – Team Prophet and starship captain
(14) TWoody – Defeated Borg in Hand-to-Hand combat
(15) JustAnotherMambaFan – Gave Worf a home with the Mamba family
(16) Jon K. -- In Charge of the Tractor Beam
(17) MagicMan – that is what Dr. Crusher calls him.
(18) Htj - Created the Warp Drive
(19) JesterGuru - He is the Borq Queens hero.
(20) JohnnyP - Created the first Starship
Posted by: mamba24 | May 14, 2008 at 12:44 PM
Frank frizzo"If Kobe is a cancer, then the Jazz are the surrounding tissue. They are going to be destroyed."
NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!
Posted by: mAMBA24 | May 14, 2008 at 12:45 PM
That's right Mamba24. Its our house folks!! Show those Jazz and their fans the courtesy and class they showed us (which was absolutely none).
Get loud and be proud!! GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: #4 | May 14, 2008 at 12:51 PM
Xodus
If Radmanovich continues to start and if his play improves as a starter and as you say Ariza is brought off the bench...........Where will the minutes come from?
Right now although Walton doesn't start he has been playing more minutes than Vladdy and Walton has been closing out games in the fourth quarter.
If Walton is playing more minutes and finishing games shouldn't Ariza's competition be with Walton?
I think everyone envision Ariza being the one that closes games and playing the bulk of the minutes since he is much more athletic and much younger.
Posted by: pfunk36 | May 14, 2008 at 12:56 PM
Morning all......Move the ball.....And we win........
Remember this team scored 68points against Houston in a playoff game a few weeks ago......Move the ball and we win..........
Go Lakers
Posted by: Thirty2 | May 14, 2008 at 01:01 PM
Mamba24 - still looking for my bandwagon membership - I believe in Vlad too!!!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: justanothermambafan | May 14, 2008 at 01:05 PM
"Nobody" from the other thread brings up a good point: OKUR. He has been killing us. I don't think we want him to go off tonight so who wants to venture a guess as to coverage? Is Vlad the right guy or should Pau be stepping out? Thoughts?
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | May 14, 2008 at 01:05 PM
Pau Gasol's Bio-Chrono Reading
To reiterate, Bio-Chronology looks at how a person's biological and metabolic patterns affect a person's worldview and, thus, personality traits. It is based upon how someone's internal biological clock is referenced and how that point of reference affects the emphases of that's person's way of perceiving themselves and the world they live in.
There are four main processes through which a person perceives and processes life: The Physical, The Emotional, The Mental/Social, and The Creative/Spiritual.
Each of these four processes can be perceived relative to (or as a reflection of) any of the other four processes. So a person can process their physical life physically, or emtionally, or mentally or creatively.
Though everyone uses all the major processes to experience life, people tend to emphasize one process over the others based upon how their biological clock is referenced.
And this is the case, of course, also with Pau Gasol.
PHYSICAL: Pau Gasol experiences the physical world primarily through spiritual/creative processes. This makes him a competitve person. This particular process is known as "attraction". It is important for Pau Gasol to excel physically for him to feel attractive to others and to be attracted to (and able to engage in) new experiences.
Notice how Pau Gasol has kind of wild hair? That's because he's drawing attention to himself physically. A lot of attraction based people do dandyish things with their appearance as a means of initiating a sense of attraction from others towards them. Luke Walton is another attraction based teammate.
What's the best way for Pau Gasol to excel physically? Promote new and different exercises and experiences for him. Diversity is key. The newness of environments and approaches is very stimulating in a benefical way to him and brings out the best in him. He also needs an initator in these activities because he is less inclined to them alone. That companionship also brings out his competitve instinct in a positive way pushing him to greater levels of improvement.
EMOTIONALLY: Pau Gasol experiences his emotional world primarily through mental processes. These processes are referred to as "trust". Trust, open and honest communication, and directness are very important to Pau Gasol's emotional health.
Gasol would rather be around an honest negative person than a fake positive person. Clarity and keeping one's word is very important to him, and he needs that to be able to relax with other people.
The emphasis on the process of trust makes Gasol a good, loyal, and reliable friend. However, if another person breaks his trust too many times (by Gasol's person standard) he will not be able to trust that person, nor forgive that person easily. He will tend to paint that person as a fundamentally "bad person" and will be very wary and bitter towards that person. Under these circumstances, Gasol will also have a terrible temper that will seem to flare up out of nowhere to outsiders, but to Gasol it is merely the reflection of the accumlation of a multitude of wrongs and lies which he has accounted for for a length of time until he could finally take no more.
In short, to bring out the emotional best in Pau Gasol, be honest with him, consistent, and direct, and also (VERY IMPORTANT) trust him upon his word.
MENTALLY: Pau Gasol primarily processes his mental world physically. This process is known as "knowledge and learning."
It is very important for Pau Gasol's mental (and social) health that he be informed as to what is going on with a group at any given time. These types of people crave knowledge and new information. Both of which are very positively stimulating for them.
They also appreciate rare and unusual knowledge. It makes them feel socially confident and useful.
I earlier suggested that Kareem Abdul-Jabaar teach Pau Gasol his sky hook. Why? Not because of his build, but because the newness of the experience is physically beneficial to him (attraction) and the rare knowledge of being able to do the sky hook correctly and learning of something new is a very positive mental stimulant to him and brings out his best when working in a group.
Knowledge orientated people have a succeptiblity towards feelings of intellectual insecurity, especially if you are talking to them about something that they don't know anything about. So, when bringing new information to them, it is important to present it as something you are sharing with them and that the two of you are learning about together, instead of it as being something the other person should already know.
Pau Gasol will also be particularly stimulated by information about social structures, philosophy, intellectual pursuits... things of that nature.
In short, to promote Pau Gasol's mental health, keep hiim informed of new changes in a group dynamic, promote knowledge, learning, and personal growth with him.
SPIRITUAL/CREATIVE: Pau Gasol primarily processes his creative world emotionally. He is like Kobe in that regard. This process is known as "enlightenment."
For Pau Gasol, the most important thing in life is to be at peace with himself. To be free of the emotional baggage that restricts him and to be able to express himself freely, spontaneously, and passionately.
Like Kobe, this equates to "being his best", living without regret and frequently translates into setting lofty goals for oneself as a benchmark of one's ability to achieve things despite the human frailties they possess (and secretly despise.)
Enlightenment orientated people have a succeptibility towards narcissism and it is something they have to constantly struggle with. This is in part because the most important thing in life to them is THEIR inner peace. If something leads them away from THEIR inner peace, they don't have time for it and will easily brand it as useless.
However they also have a tremendous creative potential because when feeling free they spontaneously are able to create creative words that others would view as genius without having to think about it or plan them out. It literally just flows out from their very being as a reflection of their unique inner self.
To promote Pau Gasol's creative/spiritual health, activities such as meditation (for him in particular meditation in nature) is useful in helping them relax and release unnecessary personal cognitive and emotional baggage. Externally, things such as acknowledging and appreciating his unique character and creative abilities is very helpful and avoiding excess criticism of his personal weaknesses that make him human and bring him pain are all very helpful. However, in the end, Pau Gasol's creative and spiritual development is more contingent upon his personal desire and internal choices than anything else.
And that, Laker Nation, is Pau Gasol in a nutshell.
Now let's kick the crap out of the Jazz!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | May 14, 2008 at 01:07 PM
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING LAKER NATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well afternoon as it were...I heard the call to arms and will do my best to muster up all I can and say...PISS OFF
ya F*CKIN REFS! Tonight we will walk all over the little b*tchy *ss jazz players like they were tiny ants on the
ground. Crushing them and grinding their bones into fine powder and flushing them down the Staples center
toilets!!!!! To do this we must stop the refs from watching the Helen Keller laser light show they have been mystified by lately. The jazz put on a good show but I think home court will help us out this time like it has for
them. Lets stop with this bullsh*t tickytack fouling D-Fish! If they are gonna call touch fouls...take a B*tch out!
They are trying to do it to us. In the end I think the jazz are gonna go down faster than Monica Lewinski (OH! Throwback!)
http://z.about.com/d/politicalhumor/1/0/n/7/monica_cigar.jpg
Not because the Lakers are gonna clamp down on the D, not because Kobe is gonna go off for 40 points, not because Pau is gonna have a big game, or because all the roll players are gonna step up and chip in. It will be
because...well ya it will be because of those things...sorry. AND because I'm gonna be high as a muthaf*cka too but...mostly the...basketball stuff...probably...I don't know for sure...I could be wrong.
Inhale now as I blow smoke at the screen...
IT'S TIME TO WATCH THE LAKERS AND DRINK SOME BEER,
TOKE A BOWL AND SCREAM AND CHEER!!!!!!!! LAKERS 4 LIFE BABY!!!!!!
CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP
IT'S TIME TO WATCH THE LAKERS AND DRINK SOME BEER,
TOKE A BOWL AND SCREAM AND CHEER!!!!!!!! LAKERS 4 LIFE BABY!!!!!!
CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP...
LakerMan 420
Posted by: LakerMan 420 | May 14, 2008 at 01:10 PM
Mark,
"Face it Jesterguru, you can't quit while you're ahead or else you'll fall behind.
Mark"
BEHIND? I will never fall behind. Like the Lakers, I will always take my best crack.
But we should be talking about the (J)azz here. You know, those BUMS from Utah. The Lakers need to keep taking it to the hole, even though it could get hairy.
Like I said, I shoulda quit when I had the chance....
Posted by: Jesterguru | May 14, 2008 at 01:13 PM
I don't know why I stray away from the blog where game day always yields good karma. Adande spouting off again....
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2008/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=JazzLakersGame5pre_080514
But the Lakers will prevail. We have the cooler heads!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | May 14, 2008 at 01:14 PM
mambe24 Please put me down on both bandwagons
Let the goodtimes roll!!
Posted by: chuck23 | May 14, 2008 at 01:14 PM
One last prayer...
Lord, bless Lamar Odom. We thank You for enabling him to find his place on our team. However, Lord, we at The Blog have sensed for years that LO has, quite possibly, been hiding from his own greatness. We have seen that greatness show up over the years in several strains of mid 20/mid 30 point & 15-20 rebound games. We have begged and pleaded for LO to play on that level night after night to no avail.
Lord, strike a match in his heart, mind and spirit starting now. Allow LO to embrace the power and greatness in his game. Let his performance tonight - and throughout the rest of the playoffs - be a transforming time in his life. He has suffered many losses in his family and in his professional life. You have taught us that suffering is the true path to glory. Lead Lamar Odom onto glory, Lord. May the ESPN, TNT and sportswriters around the world marvel at Your greatness as You allow LO to become the player we at The Blog always knew that he would be. Bless him. Take his game to new heights! Let the Jazz be at a loss for words. Strike fear in the hearts of the Spurs, Hornets, Celtics, Cavs and Pistons.
Cause LO to RISE TONIGHT! We thank You in advance...AMEN!
Posted by: utzworld THE BANNER HOLDER | May 14, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Latest report
Kobe Bryant took part in the Lakers team shoot-around today and will play tonight, as expected, against the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series at the Staples Center.
"He took some shots from the side. He looked good," Lakers forward Lamar Odom said about Bryant.
Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said, "He's OK. He got out here early before we even had shooting practice and worked on his shot before we started."
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-spw-bryant15-2008may15,0,7640018.story
Good news.. hopefully Kobe is in rythm for the game!
Posted by: Lakerfan | May 14, 2008 at 01:15 PM
Mamba24, I hate to be whiner, but I need to be included on the "Resistance is Futile" ride.......Thanks!
Posted by: toad | May 14, 2008 at 01:16 PM
Yes! Made it just in time to put something in the air (I'm on the East Coast) and read some great posts today. Keep up the good vibes folks. I don't usually comment, but the blog looks good today and tonight is going to be HUUUUGGGE.
Posted by: Puff | May 14, 2008 at 01:21 PM
Marky... Do not question the bangwagon or you will be run over by it.
I'm just sayin.
Posted by: magicman | May 14, 2008 at 01:24 PM
LakerMan 420
Great to have you in the house!
Inhaling NOW!
Posted by: toad | May 14, 2008 at 01:28 PM
Toad,
You're always a winner...
Posted by: Charles | May 14, 2008 at 01:36 PM